developing effective powerpoint presentations shane taylor publishing consultant
TRANSCRIPT
Developing effective PowerPoint presentations
Shane TaylorPublishing Consultant
Effective PowerPoint presentations
Excited
By
Animations, sound
and
Clip art
In PowerPoint?
You
Are
?
What we’ll cover today
Do you need PowerPoint? Outline Slide layout Fonts, colour and background Graphs Spelling and grammar Room set up
Do you need PowerPoint?
…then he said, “I can’t feel my legs” and then I said, “Stay with me Joe!” But it was too late. He was gone. It was the PowerPoint.
Do you need PowerPoint?
Consider the type of presentation: Lecture Discussion
Don’t make your presentation PowerPointless
The outline
1st or 2nd slide should have an outline
Follow outline for your presentation
Place main points on outline slide
Slide layout
Use point form, not complete sentences
Maximum of six points per slide
Avoid wordiness: key words only
Slide layout
This page contains too many words for a presentation slide. It is not written in point form, making it difficult both for your audience to read and for you to present each point. Although there are exactly the same number of points on this slide as the previous slide, it looks much more complicated. In short, your audience will spend too much time trying to read this paragraph instead of listening to you.
Slide layout
Showing one point at a time will:
focus attention on one point
prevent reading ahead
help keep your presentation focused
Slide layout
Do not use distracting animation
Do not go overboard with the animation
Use consistent animation
Slide layout
Slide transitions should not be distracting
Be consistent with transitions – never
Random
Worst effects –
‘Checkerboard or Comb’
Fonts – good
Use different size to show hierarchy
the title font is 36-point
the main point font is 28-point
this font is 24-point
Use a standard font like Arial Use at least an 18-point font and Bold
Fonts - bad
If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written
CAPITALISE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS
DIFFICULT TO READ AND LOOKS LIKE YOU
ARE SHOUTING.
Don’t use a complicated font
Spacing - bad
If you have a set of points space them out on the slide rather than in one corner
Spacing - good
If you have a set of points
space them out on the slide
rather than in one corner
Colour - good
Use a font colour that contrasts sharply with the background
Use colour to reinforce the logic of your structure
Use colour to emphasise a point But only use this occasionally
Colour - bad
Don’t use non-contrasting font colours Using colour for decoration is distracting
and annoying Using a different colour for each point is
unnecessary Using a different colour for secondary
points is also unnecessary Trying to be creative can also be bad
Background - good
Use a simple background
Use backgrounds that contrast with text/imagery
Use the same background consistently throughout your presentation
Background – bad
• Avoid backgrounds that are
distracting or difficult to read from
• Always be consistent with the
background that you use
Graphs
Use graphs rather than just charts and words Data in graphs is easier to comprehend and
retain than raw data Trends are easier to visualise in graph form
Always title your graphs
Graphs
January February March AprilGreen Balls 20.4 27.4 90 20.4Red Balls 30.6 38.6 34.6 31.6
Graphs
January February March April0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002
Green Balls
Red Balls
Graphs
January February March April
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
20.4
27.4
90
20.4
30.6
38.6
34.631.6
Blue Balls
Red Balls
Other features - avoid
Avoid sound effects in PowerPoint
Embedded programs and action buttons for advanced users
Be careful with ClipArt
Other features
choose pictures that
highlight your point
use a screen
capture if
appropriate
Spelling and Grammar
Proof your slides for: speling mistakes the use of of repeated words grammatical errors you might have make
Have someone check your presentation
On the day
Get there early Handouts Does everything work? Can your audience read the slides? Keep an eye on the time Don’t read directly from the slides
Conclusion slide
Use an effective and strong closing
Use a conclusion slide
Conclusion
Structure your presentation Keep it simple (background, font, colour) Minimal content on slides - 6/6 Avoid pointless animations Only use pictures if they assist Ensure accuracy with content and equipment
Questions?
End your presentation with a simple
question slide to:
Invite your audience to ask questions
Provide a visual aid during question period
Avoid ending a presentation abruptly
References
Wourio, Jeff, 2003, Presenting with PowerPoint – 10 dos and don’ts, http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/issues/technology/business_software/presenting_with_powerpoint_10_dos_and_donts.mspx
Saylor, Thomas, 2003, Creating an effective PowerPoint presentation, http://people.csp.edu/saylor/effective_powerpoint.htm
Johnston, Andrew, 2005, Presentation skills, (part of the Department of Human Services’ 2005 Communications seminar series)
